Internal roads are spaces often found in cities - leading through housing estates, parking lots, workplaces, shopping centers or industrial zones. However, many drivers do not know whether they must comply with the road signs placed there. Do speed limits, parking bans or driving in a specific direction on private property actually apply? Or are they just "suggestions"? Below we dispel all doubts - in accordance with the current legal status.
What is the inner path?
According to the Road Traffic Act (Article 2, point 1):
An internal road is a road not classified in any category of public roads and not intended for general public use.
We can therefore say that it is private land or managed by a specific institution, e.g.:
- housing estate (managed by a community or cooperative),
- parking lot under the supermarket,
- access road to the workplace,
- nternal alleys in shopping centers,
- roads in industrial or warehouse areas.
But does the lack of “public road” status mean a lack of regulations?
Are road signs required on internal roads?
Yes – if they have been set in accordance with the regulations, they have legal force and must be complied with.
This is important: an internal road does not mean a "free-for-all". If the road manager (e.g. a cooperative, land owner) erects a road sign in accordance with the regulations (including technically correct and with appropriate visibility), drivers are obliged to comply with it - just like on public roads.
When is a road sign on an internal road valid and binding?
For the sign to have legal force, it must be set:
1. Based on the approved traffic organization
- The road manager (e.g. community, cooperative, company owner) must prepare a traffic organization project.
- The project must be compliant with the Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure of 23 September 2003 (Journal of Laws 2003 No. 177 item 1729).
- It is approved by the District Governor or the President of the City – for internal roads | The Police Commander – issues an opinion on the project,
- Once approved, the project becomes a binding document.
2. In accordance with the technical conditions
- The sign must be at an appropriate distance and height, in good condition, legible and visible for an appropriate period of time.
- The conditions are specified in Annex No. 1 to the aforementioned regulation (concerning horizontal and vertical signs).
When does a sign NOT have legal force?
- If the owner himself "attaches the sign to the pole" without a design and approval - such a sign is informative, but is NOT a basis for a ticket or enforcement by the police.
This often applies to, for example:
- Prohibitions on stopping and parking in private parking lots,
- Speed limits "invented" by managers,
- False “no entry” signs.
What are the consequences for breaking the regulations on internal roads?
Although the police do not conduct regular patrols of internal roads, they may intervene in the event of:
- collision or accident,
- parking in a prohibited place (e.g. in front of a fire hydrant, in a gate),
- ignoring the “no entry” or “no parking” sign,
- driving against traffic or at excessive speed (if there are casualties or safety risks).
Interestingly, the municipal police have the right to issue a ticket, for example, for parking in a disabled parking space even in a store parking lot, if there are appropriate markings.
Examples of signs you will encounter on internal roads
- No entry - in force ✅
- No parking - in force ✅
- Speed limit - in force, if set in accordance with the standards ✅
- Speed bumps (threshold + sign) - in force ✅
- Traffic zone / residential zone - in force - with full regulations as on public roads ✅
- Horizontal markings (lines, arrows) - are often auxiliary, but it is worth respecting them
- Information signs or self-printed plates - They do not always have legal force
Information signs or self-printed plates - They do not always have legal force
Residential zone (sign D-40)
This is a special type of internal road where:
- pedestrians have priority over the entire width of the road,
- the speed limit is 20 km/h,
- parking only in designated areas.
Traffic zone (sign D-52)
This marking means that all the rules of the Highway Code apply as on a public road, even though you are formally on private property (e.g. housing estate, parking lot).
But we wrote more about it in our article.
What is worth remembering?
- Not everything that is not public is "regulation-free" - signs have legal force if they are erected in accordance with the rules.
- The police and municipal guard may intervene, especially when there is a threat to safety.
- The residential zone and traffic zone are subject to the same rules as public roads – regardless of land ownership.
- Ignorance of the road status does not exempt from responsibility.
Drivers' most frequently asked questions
